


Warm Feelings

by tangypop



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, Love Confessions, Post-Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 05:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20253157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tangypop/pseuds/tangypop
Summary: Nebula, being used to shutting any emotions down, has trouble with showing her feelings when they matter. Mantis, always reading the emotions of others, has trouble with identifying her own feelings.





	Warm Feelings

**Author's Note:**

> This is in some diverging universe where the Guardians are all happy and are just traveling around on the Benatar. No death, and not connected to Infinity War or Endgame. Just fluff between this rare pair.  
Also, please bear with my descriptions of the ship, as there isn't really much of a layout that I could find.

"Gamora?"

Nebula stood in the doorway to her sister's sleeping quarters, holding her arms across her chest. Gamora looked up.

"What is it, Nebula?"

Nebula hesitated. "I... I kind of wanted to talk to you about something," she sighed. Gamora smiled warmly, patted down on the bed, signaling for Nebula to sit down next to her.

It was nice having her sister back, Nebula realized. It had only been a few weeks since all that drama with Peter's father, and Gamora had quickly gotten softer towards her to Nebula’s surprise. Nebula herself was a bit harsh at first, but soon started to open up as well. They _were_ sisters, after all. 

"What's the matter?" Gamora asked as Nebula sat down. A slight blush tinted Nebula's cheeks, and she curled her hands into fists.

"When did you know that you loved Quill?" she bluntly asked, rather embarrassed at the childishness of the question. Gamora raised an eyebrow in interest, and smiled.

"That's a rather odd topic to bring up. Well... let’s see..." she thought for a few seconds. "Probably when he showed he was willing to sacrifice his life for me, and saved my own life as well. I refused to admit it at first, but eventually came to accept my feelings for him. Why do you ask?"

Nebula wasn’t quite sure to answer. "Just wondering."

Gamora stared at her, clearly intrigued. However, she didn't want to pry into her sister's feelings. They'd come so far to get Nebula to even trust the Guardians with showing her feelings, and forcing them out of her would only make things worse. Even if teasing was a part of sisterhood.

"Alright, then," she smirked. "Use the information as you need.” Nebula swiftly stood up, and Gamora laid down on her bed.

When Nebula started walked out of the doorway, Gamora spoke up before she could leave.  
"Hey," she said, and Nebula stopped dead in her tracks. She looked over to her sister, not sure what to expect.

"If you think you have a connection with someone like I do with Quill," Gamora told her, "don't be afraid. You should value the connection, alright?"

Nebula nodded warily before making her way out. As Gamora dropped her head back onto the bed, she let out a sigh.  
_I wonder who the person could be_, she thought to herself. _Hopefully not Drax. She'd kill him in an instant_.

The next day, Rocket had made them stop at some random planet to do repairs on the ship. Sitting in the grass with not much to do, Nebula started fiddling with a piece of scrap metal she'd found lying around. Quill had already went off to explore, with Gamora being dragged along to keep him in check.

Drax and Mantis were right by Nebula, surrounding by some odd type of flowers that Mantis started to pick. Drax seemed rather bored, though there wasn't much else to do on this seemingly barren planet. It was a surprise life had even formed here at all.

"Look! I managed to make a ring out of them," Mantis smiled as she held up a perfectly-done loop of the flowers. "Though it's a bit too small to fit around my neck. "

"Put it on your head," Drax suggested, and Mantis followed what he said. She seemed amazed as the flowers fit around her antenna, transforming into a pretty crown for her. Nebula was slightly in awe at how cute Mantis was with it on, looking so happy about such a simple thing. As redness creeped up her cheeks, she looked away so she wouldn't be noticed.

"Nebula? What's the matter?" Mantis asked, concerned by the other's sudden turn. Nebula sighed, not surprised at Mantis doing the exact opposite of what she wanted.

Nebula didn't reply, which got Mantis curious. "I know," she said, and went back to work at picking flowers. Nebula tried to ignore her, not wanting to attract attention to herself anymore. But as Mantis fell silent from her place, Nebula couldn't help but look over.

Out of nowhere, Mantis was suddenly standing right in front of Nebula. Nebula moved back, a bit surprised, and Mantis held out another flower crown.

"I made one for you! So you won't feel alone. I should make these for everyone," Mantis beamed, and Nebula begrudgingly looked down at the crown.

"Thanks..." she muttered, her sullenness unsure how to react with Mantis's shining optimism.

"It’ll look so pretty on you! Here, let me put it on for you," Mantis brought her hands towards Nebula's head, but Nebula swiftly backed away, knowing full well of what would happen if Mantis touched her.

Mantis gave a bit of a confused look, not having expected Nebula to do that. Nebula felt a little guilty, but still kept a distance between the two of them. She wasn’t sure how Mantis would react to her… feelings, after all.

"I'm sorry," Nebula muttered. "I'm just..."

"No, I get it. You're like... how did Quill put it... an angsty teen?"

"Quill called me an angsty teen?"

"Something like that. I overheard him say it to Gamora. He also called you emo, and when I asked what that means he said that you don't like colorful things. Which is why you don't want the flower crown."

Nebula blinked, slowly processing what Mantis was saying. "You think... I don't like the flowers?"

"That's what Quill meant, didn't he?”

"...No. I don't think so. I'll take the crown. Just hand it to me."

Mantis, still a bit confused, gave the flower crown to Nebula without managing to touch her. Nebula placed it onto her head, blushing slightly at how ridiculous she must look.

"You look so cute!" Mantis beamed, and Nebula wasn't quite sure how to react.

"I— thank you...?"

"You say that like you're unsure of yourself. You really do look cute, believe me. You and Gamora are the two prettiest people I know," Mantis smiled. Nebula's face was turning redder by the second, she knew. It wasn't her fault she didn't handle compliments well.

"Y-you as well. You're pretty too," replied Nebula. Mantis giggled.

"Thank you."

After Rocket had finished repairs and Quill and Gamora came back with nothing interesting to report, the Guardians all went back onto the ship and took off. Nebula was still a little frazzled at being complimented so highly by Mantis. It wasn't for a few more days that she really talked to her again.

They were sitting on the ship, Groot playing some game of his and Quill and Rocket bickering about some stupid thing Nebula didn't care enough about to listen to. Meanwhile Gamora was trying to teach Drax how to use a part of the ship— a difficult task in itself. So Nebula sat there, watching everyone around her.

Mantis walked over and took a seat next to Nebula, also bored as they traveled through space. Nebula shifted her chair over a little bit, silently contemplating if she should say anything to her. Mantis smiled.

"What is it?" Nebula asked, and Mantis shrugged.

"I felt like sitting here. Unless you want me to leave. I can go with Gamora and Drax."

"No, you can stay." Pairing Mantis up with Drax would definitely cause Gamora to lose her mind.

Mantis leaned onto the table, resting her chin onto her crossed arms. It had been a pretty lazy past couple of days, and everyone was itching for something interesting to happen. Maybe not something as dramatic as Quill's dad secretly being a god, but a good heist or monster killing would certainly boost the morale.

"Do you want to play a game?" asked Mantis, now tilting her head over to Nebula.

"What sort of game?" Nebula wasn’t exactly the more gaming-type of person.

"Something called _20 questions_," Mantis replied. Nebula thought she had heard Quill talking about a game like that. It was a game of deduction, something she could easily practice on.

"Sure," she said. It wasn't that often in her past life that she got to play games.

"Alright," Mantis leaned back up, "In this game, I get to ask you a question about yourself. Then you ask one to me. And I guess it ends when we ask a total of 20 questions," she explained.

This wasn't the game Nebula had in mind. "Is this really a game, or an interview?"

"Well, it can be fun to know stuff! I'll go first. What's... your favorite color?"

Nebula stared at Mantis a bit, the simple question taking her aback. "...Blue?" she said, not really having considered her favorite color that much.

"Blue's nice. Very pretty, especially on you," Mantis smiled and bent her arm over to touch Nebula's arm. Nebula reflexively pulled back, not wanting Mantis to intrude on her feelings.

Mantis seemed to have understood that, because she pulled her arm back as well. "I'm sorry. It just really does look nice on you. Your turn!"

Nebula blushed a bit, then tried to think of a question. Something simple, though not too boring. "What type of climate do you prefer the most?"

Mantis tapped on the table. "I do really like a pleasant and warm one that isn't too dry. Kind of like a beach, though I also like flowers a lot. I think Ego mentioned something like that, called spring."

Nebula nodded. "It sounds nice."

"My turn now. Why did you decide to join us?"

The change in pace of the question threw Nebula off a bit. She didn't initially want to join them, but was captured and Gamora warmed up to her. Of course, she still was in service to her father and he could come order her back at any moment, but...

"I like it here. It's much better than whatever I had before."

"But weren't we the enemy?"

Nebula looked at Mantis, picturing her as the enemy she had to face. It almost felt ridiculous, though Mantis had demonstrated great power before.

"You were. But I don't necessarily think so anymore. Gamora is different without my father's influence, and I hope to be too."

"But would you go back to him?"

Definitely more than one question at a time, Nebula realized. "...No. I don't wish to. I'm fine here, sitting on the ship with you guys."

That made Mantis smile warmly again, and she softly put her hand against Nebula's. It took a moment for Nebula to realize and move her hand back, but Mantis had already established contact.

"I think... I'm done playing this," Nebula stanmered, suddenly nervous at whatever Mantis could've seen. "I'm going to go train."

"Oh... alright," Mantis pouted as Nebula walked out of the chair and towards another end of the ship. She lifted up her hand, confused by what she had felt. She definitely sensed a nice, happy feeling. One that filled up her heart with love. But she couldn't tell who it was directed to. And that worried her, though she couldn't exactly pinpoint why that was.

It was another lazy few days until something interesting finally happened. The Guardians were tasked with fighting some small gang of ruffians, and so far it was going very well. As more and more of the gang members went down, it wasn't long until their boss walked forward to deal with the Guardians.

"No..." Nebula muttered as she caught eye of who the man was. The familiar face gave a grin towards her, then glanced over to Gamora.

"Gamora. Nebula. I expected to find you two eventually. You know, father is very mad at you two for disobeying him. Especially you, Nebula."

The sullen face of Ebony Maw seemed to gaze down upon them, and Nebula readied herself for what was to come.

"Wait, you know this guy?" Quill asked Gamora, who shrugged.

"It's... hard to explain."

"Oh, I would expect more feeling from my own sister," said Ebony Maw. Quill shot Gamora another incredibly confused look.

"He's another one adopted by my father. Like Nebula, though less angsty and more of a suck-up."

"Great, there's more killer siblings," Quill muttered, and shot a blast from his gun towards Ebony Maw. But as it neared him, the blast froze midair, and was shot back toward Quill. Quill ducked, but gave a frightful glare up at the enemy.

"I'm not here to fight. Just to report what I've found. So thank you for bringing Mantis and Nebula over here. Now I can tell our father what they've been up to," Ebony Maw explained. "Goodbye for now. Hopefully you two won't be so harshly punished for what you've done when we bring you back."

A beam of light seemed to take Ebony Maw with it, and in a flash he was gone. The Guardians all looked at each other confusedly for a second.

"Alright. What just happened?" asked Rocket. "Why did he even bother coming here?"

"Oh, nothing much, just that now my father can track me and Nebula down and possibly snatch us," Gamora replied with a bit of venom. Rocket huffed at that.

"Who even is your father, anyways? He sounds like a douche."

"That's exactly what he is. I have no doubt we'll meet him soon enough. We should go, though. Staying here isn't safe."

Gamora marched off, and Nebula wasn't far behind her. They both were rather annoyed by this, as they'd been having quite the nice time avoiding Thanos. Nebula never technically returned to him to report the mission on getting Gamora, though now she knew that's not what she wanted. Mantis's questions a few nights before had really solidified her choice.

Back on the ship, she slumped against a wall and stared blankly at nothing. Gamora was talking to Quill on another part of the ship, probably venting to him about her dad. Nebula, not really one who vented to others that much before, remained in thought by herself.

She pointed her head over as she heard footsteps coming towards her. Mantis peeked over, giving Nebula a worried glance.

“Are you alright? You seem to be isolated from everyone else,” she walked over. Nebula gave nothing in reply.

“I’m sorry about your brother. I think he was your brother, at least. He was kind of rude; threatening to tattle to your father isn’t really nice.”

“It’s not just that. If my father manages to take me back, he’ll tear me apart more. Add a new improvement to me, so that I won’t defy him again.” Nebula flexed her metal arm.

“You’ll also be taken from us, and I really wouldn’t like that,” mumbled Mantis.

“I can’t go back there. Not after all of this. He’ll be tracking us down now, I’m sure of it.”

“Then we can go into hiding. Stay away from everyone. Even if it’s just the two of us, I’d be alright with that.”

“It’s not that easy,” Nebula sighed. “He has his ways.”

“I don’t—“

“Mantis, what you don’t do is understand,” snapped Nebula, the stress of the situation getting to her. “Thanos isn’t an enemy you can just avoid. He’s power hungry and evil. Either he won’t stop at anything to get us, or he’ll achieve his plan and take us through that. I can’t just _hide_. I’m not strong enough.”

Mantis stood quietly, absorbing all the information that was just spouted. Nebula never would snap like this, especially to Mantis.

“I’m sorry, Nebula. I try to understand, but some things I just never can.”

Nebula, who was fighting back the tears in her eyes, shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I’m just… frustrated. I should leave,” she leaned forward, lifting herself from the wall, and started to walk away as she wiped her face with her metal arm. But she only made a few steps away before Mantis’s hand grabbed her flesh one, and she was pulled closer.

“Mantis, what—“ she watched in a shock as Mantis tightly held onto Nebula’s hand with her own. Mantis shifted through many emotions at once, mostly annoyance, self-hatred, and intense pain. She breathed heavily as all the hurting hit her, eyes looking up at Nebula as she realized how much the other had gone through.

But then, there was another feeling. A warmer one; one that caused Mantis’s cheeks to redden. Nebula, realizing what was happening, gave in, and pulled Mantis’s hand closer to her heart.  
Mantis was overwhelmed with a wave of radiant, vibrant love. The more she gripped Nebula’s hand, the more light she felt. She closed her eyes, letting herself be filled with the emotions that were all directed towards her.

That’s what made this emotion different than anything she had experienced. It was all towards Mantis herself. All this powerful adoration that Nebula felt was entirely meant for Mantis, and she wasn’t quite sure how to react.

It wasn’t until Nebula, blushing profusely, started to pull away that Mantis leaned forward and kissed her. She didn’t want the feeling to ever go away. She wanted to stay with Nebula; to feel this love everyday for her.

When Nebula pulled back, Mantis finally let go. Despite the sensation being over, Mantis herself was able to feel her own form of love, all for Nebula.

“I…” Nebula hesitated. “I think you got a sense of how I feel for you.”

“It was the most beautiful thing,” replied Mantis with a large smile on her face. “And I think I have the same feelings as well.”

“I love you,” Nebula said softly, and Mantis pulled their hands together again.

“I love you too. And I will help you with whatever problems you’re facing,” she said as she was filled with the extreme love again. And as she held on tightly to Nebula’s hands, she knew that she never wanted to let go.


End file.
